Tag Archives: Social Media

Today is a new day, one that everyone who is honest would gladly admit that they are proud to experience. On any given day, I would likely write to you about my beloved home of Fort Smith, Arkansas.

I might talk to you about reaching out and connecting to your friends, family and potential clients via Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and WordPress. I might even talk to you about marketing and adversiting solutions for your business and the various ways that you can utilize social media to save yourself and your business time and money.

All of these forms of technology and ways of connecting on the grid are relevant to our way of life. But let’s suppose for a moment that you were to become disconnected from the grid or the grid were to go down for any one of a million reasons. Then what?

My last article on this site was Social Media: Now What? and included a picture of an old computer. It’s no secret that ever day people across the globe are struggling to provide a roof over their heads, food in their bellies, are fighting against horrible diseases, and for their safety. War has become a part of everyday life, so much so that Generation X hardly blinks an eye lash at its ever-present danger!

So you ask “why has the theme of my written gift to you changed?” How did we get from Social Media: Now What? to The Grid’s Great: Where’s Your Radio? Ask me. I would be happy to explain.

Okay I know; I am gushing! But I have been waiting for weeks, for the newest version of Trust Agents and The Impact Equation and they arrived together just in time for my birthday. Happy Happy Happy Birthday to Ms. Annie Sells!

I owe about 100 thank you’s to all the friends and family that reached out to make me feel loved and appreciated on the celebration of my birth. I owe the biggest thank you, to Chris and Z who made it clear that they love me without measure and wanted me to know it on my special day. But I owe a big thank you to these authors for rekindling a spark in me!

I have spent time “on-line” forever and was one of the first people I know to do AOL, to get a Yahoo account, I was on MyLife way before it was MyLife and I still slink around MeetMe which of course used to be My Yearbook. I remember when chat rooms were thought to never take on. Of course I have seen many more come and go. I miss Threadsy. 😦

I have advocated for online learning for over a decade and every degree and certification that trails my name was earned online. I respect and love higher education, but firmly believe that if colleges and universities don’t come a lot further very quickly, toward embracing distance and online learning that future generations will suffer.

However, I did not need to tell you any of this, because it is all out here on the world wide web for your viewing pleasure. Do a search for “Ms. Annie Sells” and you will find a lot, but do another search for “Ms. Annie Sells, social media” or “Ms. Annie Sells, Fort Smith” and you would be entertained for a while

I have tripped my way through a lot of trial and error just like Trust Agents and Thought Leaders. We are the guinea pigs that are testing everything and putting ourselves on the line, so that we can learn for ourselves and teach as many of our friends and colleagues who are willing and interested in learning. Trust me, if you take this route you will not need a resume’ or CV either.

A respected colleague posted a full analysis of their Facebook activity to their news feed and I could not resist checking it out. I was redirected to Zeebly and accessed Social Me. After more than five years in online marketing and social media advancement this was new to me. Okay … I have been busy. So sue me.

The next step was to allow them access to my Facebook page. They said I use Facebook a ton. Big surprise there.

According to their analysis 83% of my posts come from Facebook (of course with the assistance of many apps) and 7% come from Android. (This is about to change folks, as I just ordered my first tablet computer today). Rumor has it that the average person posts from Facebook 58% of the time. I talk the most about Social Media, Community, and Business and am ambitious and spontaneous. They examined my statuses, looked in depth at my speech, my likes, my post times, my friends, and much more to figure out my online personality.

Of my 1,200 plus posts they are usually about education, general questions, culture, love, excitement, my day, humor and happiness. The personality traits that they attribute to me are extroverted, confident, compassionate, spontaneous, traditional, spiritual, ambitious and optimistic. They say that I have published more words than the Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, which has a total of 36,363 words. Too bad they only looked at Facebook, if they ran the same analysis of all my social media channels, then I am sure that I have published what amounts to many books.

My most popular status thus far is:

“To every single one of you who are on my friends list – – I enjoy catching up, looking at pics, hearing about you and your family, sharing jokes and news, along with getting and sometimes giving…”

Ironically this sums up my philosophy. We all have an online presence. Whether we are aware of it and manage it is our choice – this goes for individuals, organizations and businesses alike. This motivated lady took it upon herself to brand herself and to learn how to teach others to do the same. This assessment of one of my platforms shows that my efforts have not been in vain.

Do you ever have those days where something that you have seen or heard rattles around in your head? I have sent 100’s of emails, processed tons of invoices, answered more questions that I can count and have been BUSY. But all day long, as I have gone about the business of life, these two items just would not get out of my head!

“Those who win are producers, not consumers. The first thing you do each morning should be active, not passive – no Facebook, no email. Whatever you choose should put you in a state of mind for the rest of the day. Choose carefully.”

I will be the first one to admit that the difference between an off and an on day is how I start my day. On the weekends, or rather off days, I will start my day with quiet stillness and coffee. You will not get me moving without it and odds are you will not get me online or on the phone, unless it is to post a blog or column article. My perfect day begins with me sitting on my huge front porch sipping on coffee, processing my dreams from the night before, and letting the world slowing drift in one sight and smell at a time.

However, on days are a little different. I wake up as close to when I have to leave as possible (I mean minutes), go to the bathroom, jump into clothes, grab my stuff and make it to the car. I crank the ignition that doesn’t require it (out of habit), drive to work (usually in silence), come in, load the coffee pot and plug in. Plugging in includes turning on the computer, connecting my mini-computer to sync (phone), logging into at least two email accounts (sometimes 3 and throw in social media sites for good measure), checking the voicemails (on at least two phones) and many times putting on my headphones (for tunes).

How do you start your days? What is the difference between your on days and off days?

Item #2 – This quote,

“When you internalize facts, you begin to internalize a conception of the world. You begin to try to fit new facts into a network of old facts. You begin to operate in a liminal space that taps both conscious processing and broad intuitions.”

Do you love flowers? Most people say that they like flowers and would be flattered to receive them. BUT very few people truly love the flowers of a plant.

Love requires sacrifice. How many people do you know who will sacrifice for a plant, much less the flowers of a plant?

I love flowers. I love plants. I spend a lot of time and resources (money, blood, sweat and blisters) and energy investing in having plants and flowers surround me.

I love social media. Do I love the concept, the time spent, and the resources spent?

I love the flowers of Social Media! The flowers of social media are the relationships that enrich our lives and our businesses, which of course are extensions of us and our lives.

Just like I love gardening because I love plants and their flowers, I love the flowers of Social Media and everything else that goes with it, even the sacrifice! Most would say that is not Social Media! The flowers are part of the plant.

Today, I had the pleasure of meeting with a small business woman who actually just wanted to talk. She wasn’t looking for free advice or trying to sell me anything.

It seems that my name kept popping up on her computer screen and she finally decided that it was time to meet the persona in person. I am so glad she did!

Sharon is one lady who understand the value of networking, whether by utilizing technology or just in good ole fashioned face-to-face meetings. She has been with her company for 24 years and in that time she has built a business, but she has also built a family.

The joy that I get out of my career is the clients that have become my family. – Sharon Herrick

First allow me to tell you a little bit about what brings me here, to this place and time.

In January 2010, I was doing marketing for a small business in Fort Smith, Arkansas that had a shoe-string budget and wanted to reach as many of their target audience as possible with little to no investment. I knew where there was a will there was a way, but there was only so much time in the day. Conventional means just were not cutting it. So for the sake of my job, my client’s reputation and to produce results I began to look into Social Media marketing. In that month, I did the market research, formed a plan and launched. I started with a Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter account, began blogging here on WordPress and eventually took a column with Examiner.com.

Not only did I discover that Social Media was just another set of tools like the world wide web, email, websites, and cell phones, but I discovered a passion! So I began taking on other clients in the Greater Fort Smith Region. I discovered yet another passion!

Of course I, like other Social Media pessimists, at first thought that it was a waste of time and unnatural way of communicating. But I had clients that expressed needs and I had discovered a wonderful way to increase their exposure and help them meet their goals to solve their problems.
So with my doubts, my reservations, all the necessary time investment and the world-wide transparency and the nay saying of my friends and family, why did I continue? Why did I bother? I love to connect with people. I value honesty and equality. Social Media networking and marketing were the perfect fit. I got to do the things I enjoyed, met tons of awesome people from all walks of life, and was learning a new tool set, wherein I could write, share, and help others. Little did I know that in 2010 SM networking would be the most significant business development of the year. I saw the value.

I am excited! Tomorrow afternoon, May 19th, 2001, just 16 short months after taking the plunge I have the opportunity to stand before 50 of my friends and colleagues from across the state and share my passions with them. Don’t you wish you could be there?

Do you now or would you like to own a small business? Have you ever worked for a small business? I can answer these questions with conviction and odds are that you can also. In my opinion, small businesses are where it’s at and they are the back-bone of America. (Non-profits aren’t too bad either.) Seriously, home based businesses, small businesses and entrepreneurs are the United States’ greatest source of innovation.

I make no bones about my passion for my home, the Greater Fort Smith Region, or about my passion for entrepreneurship. So why would someone like me utilize much of my free time studying, getting to know and interacting with small businesses, their employers and entrepreneurs? Why would I advocate the use of social media and/or teach others how to utilize these tools for their own personal use and/or for their businesses.

Let’s look at this from a different view.

Have you ever drawn your water from a well? Or had it gravity feed from a pond, stream or lake? Have you ever used a chamber pot or an outhouse? Have you ever gone without electricity and used candles, lanterns, and/or fire? Have you ever made hand crank ice cream? Have you ever tilled a garden by pulling a plow and/or by hand with a hoe? Have you ever ridden a bicycle to school or work?

I have done each of these things and would do them again tomorrow if I had to. But now I have running water and electricity in my home. I also have two toilets and I like ice cream that is already made that I can scoop, spoon, and swallow. I also like tilling with a tiller and I really love driving my jeep.

There is always more than one way to skin an animal and there are always many different ways to get to our destinations in life and in business. I do not advocate the use of Social Media because it is some magic bullet. I advocate the use of social media because anyone that is willing to learn new things, utilize new tools, put themself out there and to possibly fail can and will benefit from it.

We all have to generate exposure for our products, services and businesses.

We all want to generate more traffic, because then odds are in our favor instead of against us.

If we are online, we all want to increase our search rankings. People look for things online and they find them. Whether they find them from you or someone else is within your control.

We are always in the market for new colleagues and new business opportunities and increasing the likelihood of these is in our favor.

We are all in the lead generating business and anything that helps in that department is a step in the right direction.

We all want to get the most bang for our buck and there isn’t any better way to do that than to decrease our marketing expenses.

Improving sales is the name of the game.

So with the benefits who needs a magic bullet? I don’t. I have running water, toilets, electricity, frozen ice cream, tillers, jeeps and Social Media.